Embedded control systems (“control systems”) can be used in a wide variety of different applications. For example, control systems can be used to control and monitor power stations, turbines, and the like. In relatively complex control systems, it is typically necessary to monitor or sense a variety of different types of input signals such as thermocouple inputs, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), currents, voltages, capacitances, inductances, and resistances.
One type of control system employs configurable input-output (IO) channels, also referred to as universal IO channels, to serve as the digital and analog interfaces to sensors for a number of different types of applications as well as the different configurations of a given application type. This type of control system enables a modular and scalable design approach of the controls for a number of applications, whereby the same configurable IO channel design are used for any sensor interface, and the configurable IO channels are then configured for the specific application during the manufacturing, assembly, or commissioning of the control systems.
Because of the high degree of electrical interferences (e.g., EMI) often present in large scale industrial applications, as well as the need for the inputs and outputs of the control system to operate across a wide range of sensor interfacing modes, conventional techniques associated with large scale production and fabrication of configurable IO channels, or controller thereof, fully integrated on a single mixed-signal die may require an undue amount of design time.
Therefore, what are needed are devices, systems and methods that overcome challenges in the present art, some of which are described above.